Thurs, Aug 9, 2012

Hard to believe I left home a week ago. So much had happened since then that it felt like a month had gone by. My body was achy and sore and my mind was worn. Fortunately, my only objective for the day was to rest- and I was in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

I rose out of bed at around 9am and sipped a cup of coffee on my balcony as I watched ships roll in and out of the marina below. Sea air definitely has a smell, and the salty air reminded me instantly of the oysters I enjoyed the night before. For a kid from the prairies this is a pretty exotic experience.

I tinkered on the laptop for a while and decided to take a short tour on Silver to see Long Beach and to walk through the rainforest trail to the south. I grabbed lunch at a local bistro that included fresh tuna and avocado salsa in a wrap, then headed south.

Long Beach is one of the best cold water surfing sites in the world. By the time I arrived at about 1pm the beach was peppered with surfers, kite flyers, loungers, and Frisbee tossers. It was a hive of activity and I spend about an hour walking up and down the beach, looking for things to discover. I found several crabs and assorted shellfish- victims of the sea birds that ripped them from the ocean and devoured them on the beach.

The beach felt a lot like home- mostly because after being in mountainous terrain for several days, I could finally see the horizon. I could see the clouds. The wide open ocean is a lot like the wide open prairie. In the mountains, on the other hand, weather is a surprise and you never know what is beyond the next bend.

After Long Beach I went on an hour long hike through the temperate rainforest that covers the entire West Coast of Vancouver Island. The forest was amazing. There is so much life everywhere and you really notice how much oxygen is in the air. It is a very fertile place and every square centimetre has some kind of life on it. Dead, ancient cedars provide a home and nourishment for mosses and new trees and ferns. There were no flying insects- just creepy, crawly ones like the giant slugs that I saw everywhere. It was a beautiful experience.

I headed back to the motel after my little hike and watched the marina for the remainder of the afternoon. I went back to the pub for supper for a fried oyster po’ boy and a couple of beers. I felt relaxed and ready to resume my journey the next day.